Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

OREGON SIDEWINDERS T Story and Photos by Ben Coleman CLACKAMAS, ore., July 18- The Or egon Sidewinders M.C. held their weekly F riday night races on Th ur sdaY this time. The date was set up one day to make room for th e pre- National events at Cas tle Rock, Was hington Friday. Action Is held at the Sidewinders own track near Clackam as, a 1/5th-mile oval wi th an Inside start and a finish line on the straight. The layout i s unique lit tha t the l ong straight sweeps uph11l past turn #3 and reaches the summit about turn #4 which i s about forty to fifty feet higher than the pit area. The pit llrea ts abOut fo ur feel below the track leYe1 and quartered orf wi th four- by-fours. The track itself Is hard-packed dirt with a few dips here and there that keep the r iders guessing. The club has their 0 '1'11I water truck and mak e good use of it to keep down the dust but nol quite enough to make It muddy. However, " laying it down" in one of the corners ts tricky and exci ting to watch. five riders barely made it around him in turn #5. Roy came up unhurt but unhappy . Gill Ortmayer (92q) took advantage of the situation to extend his ort-the-l ine lead and held his Triumph there for the checkered flag. Bill Manly (20w), H-D, came I n second and Clarke Hoeltk e ( 21q), Triumph-mounted, p u lled down third place. Bill Kramer did a nice j ob of com~ up through the pack to lake four'th, Nixon Takes B Main The ac ti on continued in th e Expert B -Main with Gary Nixon, Nat'l. #1 shooting Off the line to lead the r est of the pack to the ftrs t place money. Doyle McNatt(3w) drove hard ' and tight with Jerry Kouvo (77w) stayi ng right with him all the way in a terrl.fic battle for second . But Mc Nalt's Triumph foun d the groove out of turn #2 on the last fifty yards to the finish line and just eased out Jerr y Kouvo for second. Van Leeuwen dropped out on the third lap wl th clutch trouble. Going into the A Maln events , Chuck Joyner (2) aboard a Bultaco, took the Nat 'l. 97, wIIo led all the way. Ray Carroll ( 3q) nailed down a solid third. The fir st four place w i nner s were all Trl umph- mounted . It was now 10:3 0 p .m , the roar had died down and the ears started to r i ng. Th e sun was gone and a beautiful Or egon sky overhead climaxed the start of a full weeke nd of cy cle racing In the Or egon- Wash. ar e a. Anyone considering racing in this area or watching the action any Friday night at the Sidewinders track will not regret it i n the least. The track i s well taken care of, the races well conducted and the club members are f ri endly, courteous and very hel pful. So, if you plan to vi sit or race, drop a line to the club Pr esi dent, Dennis Seifert, P .O. Box 66033, Por tland, Or e. 97266. ( Resul ls appeared l as t week) RONIIIE RALL FLIES ON A BENELLI FoR DEALER INFORMATION IN SELECTED AREAS W rite: Jesse C. Levine National Sales Manager COSMOPOLITAN MOTORS, INC . DepL A., 5521 Wayne Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 1 9144 I KNU RLI NG TOOL MAK ES NEAT ROWS OF KNURLING • . . ADJUSTAB L E TO APPROX. 2" Dl A . HAN DY FOR A BILLION USES. WRITE 223 W. CAMIN O REAL , ' MONROVIA . CALI F. 91016 - Skip Van Leeuwen (59) coes lIIId. T.L. Hoglan (6q) at Sidewinders IT. l ead i n the 175cc A Main on the first turn and stayed there to pull down first place From practice laps to the Expert A Maln th e riders gave the spectators more than th eir money's worth. There were several hot - shoes on hand to spice the l ocal ac tion. Gary NIxon, NatiOOal #1, Gary Davls, Natiow #14 and Skip Va L eeuwen, National #59 were among the 78 riders signed up for tonight's run for a $900.00 purse and trophies. Practice started at 7:30 p .m, with an hour and a half or sun still lett I n the Or egon sky. ThIs reporter foun d it bard to get used to a 9:30 p.m, sunset! Ray Cel orle, cl ub treasurer, starter and flagman was very cooperative and gave a quick rundown on how they run the track and conduc t their races. All , events are AMA sanctionedandunderthe capable hands and caretul scrutinY or AMA Referee Mort Becker. Several r iders, anxious for a fast start In practice, took heiiltbY spills on turn #1 but nothing serious occurred. Th e Sidewinders had one ambu1aiK:e in attendance i n the pit area and a reserve ambulance standing by. M ter practice, everyone convened for a short r i ders ' meeting, and a little before 8 p.rn, the events were underway wi th 4-lap heat races to determine who would go to the U B" Main, H A" Main and the Trophy Dash. On the first lap of the fir st Novice race, four r iders out of ei ght starters went down on turn #1. This was a prevlew of what was to com e. While they were r egrouping for a restart, the omcials sent out the second Novice heat race. They was te no time here and keeP the action moving at all times. All of the heat r aces were very fast wIth most of the jockeying for position limited to the back of the pa ck . Trophy Dashes were r un after the heats and went on schedule until th e Expert Dash . ThIs event had to be started three times. Twice, pile-ups on the fir st turn caused a restart with Skip Van Leeuwen involved in the second pileup on turn #1. But he made abeautifulotr-andon-again recovery, No one was injured i n either pile-up. Gary Davls, National #14 knew his way around the track and won hands down all the way for a beautiful trophy. in the Novice B Main, Tony Aiker (l6 1q) wheeled his Suzuki out in front and stayed there all the way f or first place money. JIm Nichols (9Oq) grabbed third position until the last lap wilen he got past Bill Jackson (163q) to take second with Jackson third, while Ed BerhiJan (53q) held his Honda for fourth place. On the first lap of the AmatelU' B Main, Roy Stenlend; (S5w) went dOwnand 213-44HI342 MOTO-CROSSWINNER honors. He was followed by Mike Th ompson (11) Bultaco while Jerry LObbins (25) zoomed his Kawasald f rom the baelt or the pack to finish third. Nallonal Number One, Gar, N"on, won the ·8' Main Event at CI_amas, Oro. IT trad. The Novice A Main was about life hardest fought race of the evening. Five rtders fought for fourth place through two laps then a three rider group f ought f or third place wlth AI Brackenbury ( 14Oq) on a Honda winning the argument and third place money. Meanwhile Jack Mott (l59q) took wings off the line and while the r est of the boys were hashing out thir d and fourth po sitions proceeded to increase his lead and stayed way out ahead for fir st place loot wlth BIll Elder (241w) H- 0 pulled down seco nd. The A mateur A Main was almost a repelttion of the Novlce A Main. 11 started out wi th a three hike clash for second then, two laps later a set- t o for third. Rick Deane (6 8m) Tri umph took the disputed second and hel d it. In the last lap It was Duane Jor dan ( 8q), Rick Deane (6Sm) and Dave Shertel ( 12q) all Triumph- motlnted for firs t, second ' and third place money. • A' Main To Jagow The event everyone was waiting for was next, the Exper t A Main. Pol e position Gary Davis, Nat'l. #14 lost the lead to third from the pole Dick Jagow. Van Leeuwen was unable to finish although his mechanics had worked feverishly to repair the clutch problem. Fifteen laps of fast close racing kept the approxtmately 2000 fans on their feet. Thls was the fastest, most closely contested race of the night. 11 was hard to decide who was in second - they were ALL in a group for many laps until finally Nat'l. #14 Gary-Davls scooted out for asecond place f1nlsh behind Dick Jagow. ENCINIT AS MOTo-CROSS - AUG. 4, 1968 100 EXPERT CLASS lst JACK MORGAN - HODAKA BR USH PRAIRIE, WASH. - JULY 28, 1968 100ee A MAIN 1st MIKE McCALL - HODAKA TIJUANA T T - JULY 28, 1968 100ee EXPERT CLASS 1st DON BANKE R - HODAKA ELSIN ORE TT - JULY 27, 1968 100ee EXPERT CLASS 1st T. McKE E - HODAKA For a first..hand demonstration of HODAKABILITY,visit your dealer for a free test ride. , .0. lOX 1t7 A- . . _ 97113

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